Mom Answers

And yes, epidurals don't work for everyone, or only work partially, etc but if you're at a good hospital - my epidural numbed the contractions, but I could still feel the pushing, move my legs, etc perfectly fine. And I hardly tore. But I sure could feel that "ring of fire"!

Personally, I don't understand why anyone wants to endure pain that they don't have to endure. You wouldn't get a tooth removed without Novocaine right? I felt the pain before the epidural kicked in (and even some after) and I would NOT want to go through it. I have many friends who wanted to do it "naturally" but after 24 hours of extreme pain (with no food mind you) the baby started to show signs of stress and moms got the epidural and once they relaxed, the birth progressed well. They didn't need to go through that suffering. That said, some people prefer to have the least possible medical interference, if that is your preference, my birth class teacher said you need to train for natural child birth like you do for a marathon (there are special classes). Everyone is different and for some people birth goes quickly and it's not too bad, others are stuck in 24 hours+ of pain before baby comes. I loved my epidural and highly recommend it. There are no downsides! :)

I had an epi with my 1st and I really hated it! Sure, I didn't feel my contractions but when the time came to push I couldn't feel a thing. With my other 2, I wanted to go natural, and I did. I knew it was going to hurt and I prepared for it but I was glad that I did it, and I was proud. There is no other feeling on this earth than when you give birth to a baby and you go through the whole process without drugs. Trust me, there is a difference when you get the epi and when you don't.
A word of caution, do not get pitocin if you are going all natural. Pitocin will make your contractions a lot stronger, a lot painful, and closer together, so you will not have any breaks between each one. I wish I knew about this with my 2nd before I agreed to get it to "speed things up".

I have delivered 4 babies vaginally with significant tearing. With my first I got an epidural and it worked like a charm. So naturally I expected the same with my next deliveries. Boy was I wrong. I went into my 2nd labor knowing I wanted an epi but when the time came, the medicine all pooled into my right leg but did not relieve the pain. So I inadvertantly had a "natural" childbirth. So knowing that the epi may not work, I went into my next two deliveries with the idea that I would just try to go natural and avoid the whole epi thing but I was too much of wimp and tried 2 more times only to have the same thing happen. So I guess you could say I had it both ways. I've had a really good epidural that worked perfectly and I have had natural childbirth (though not by choice). Can you do it naturally? ABSOLUTELY! Are there benefits? YES! You are better able to control your pushing & actually avoid tearing WITHOUT the epidural. So if it is what you want, go for it!

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